PetBox subscription pet supply service

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Maybe you have seen the advertisements on various pet sites for a subscription service to have treats and toys delivered to your dog in a monthly box. At a time when Internet shopping and home deliveries have become popular, it’s something for families with pets to consider.

C.A.Wulff

PetBox is just such a service, and my dogs were treated to a sample gratis box just before the holidays. The box arrived quickly, within 48 hours of being told it was shipped. The box arrived undamaged, with all the goodies secure. I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of items inside.

Our box had two toys and a sampling of four different treats. There was also a box of canine vitamins, a bottle of calming spray, emergency decals to alert police and fire to the number of pets in the household, and a small informative booklet about the company. We had not selected the items, they were provided randomly by PetBox, but they are precisely what we would have ordered.

Everything in the box was natural and healthy. While the jury is still out among our 5 dogs about the vitamins, there were no questions about the treats and toys, and the calming spray, an aromatic bend of natural herbs and oil, is effective.

I had not visited the company’s website before receiving the box, and was unaware of the price of a subscription. My partner and I studied the contents, and tried to place a value on it; guessing the items to have a retail value of $30-$35.

Once we had seen the box, I was curious to find out about the product choices offered through the website and whether or not the box we’d received was representative of a typical month’s offerings. I also wanted to find out about the subscription service itself. The cost for a subscription runs between $29-$39 per month, depending on how many months you choose to pay in advance; the cheapest price point being for a year’s subscription; the most expensive price point being a month-to-month arrangement. Whichever plan you choose offers free shipping. The subscription price falls into line with the perceived retail value of the box contents.

The PetBox website interface is easy to use, and offers six categories to choose from, including: toys, treats, bones & bully sticks, waste bags, grooming and accessories – so the products are not just for the pet, but also for the pet’s guardian. The choices work on a point basis. A subscriber is awarded a number of points to spend, and each item in the inventory is given a point value. I was initially disappointed in the rather modest selection of products, but when I went back to the website interface a week later, I found that there were almost a dozen additional items. I suspect that the company is adding items to their inventory as their subscriber base grows.

The booklet that was enclosed contained information about the company including where the items and ingredients are sourced (mostly the Americas), and where the company makes charitable donations.

If you are accustomed to spending $30-$40 per month on pet ‘extras’, or if you have the disposable income to subscribe to such a service, you’d be getting your money’s worth if you choose PetBox. Your pet(s) will most definitely thank you.

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C.A.Wulff is an author, artist
and animal advocate. She has been involved in pet rescue for over 24 years, writing about her experiences in her books: 'Born Without a Tail' (BookSurge 2007) and 'Circling the Waggins; How 5 Misfit Dogs Saved Me from Bewilderness' (Barking Planet Productions 2012). Wulff's articles have appeared in Pet Planet Magazine and on the blog, Up on the Woof. She is a native Clevelander who shares her home with five dogs, and attributes her love of animals to having been raised by Wulffs. Email Wulff at: yelodoggie@yahoo.com.